1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inkjet head, an inkjet head cleaning system and a maintenance method of an inkjet head, and more particularly, to an inkjet head, an inkjet head cleaning system and a maintenance method of an inkjet head, which each facilitate the cleaning of a nozzle surface by a wiping member while a member that holds cleaning liquid is provided in the vicinity of the nozzle surface of an inkjet head.
2. Description of the Related Art
With use, foreign matter of various types, such as ink residue, paper dust, or the like, adheres to the nozzle surface of an inkjet head which is used in an inkjet recording apparatus. If foreign matter adheres to the nozzle surface, ink droplets ejected from the nozzles are affected, variation occurs in the ejection direction of the ink droplets, it becomes difficult to deposit the ink droplets at the prescribed positions on a recording medium, and this becomes a cause of decline in the image quality. Therefore, in an inkjet recording apparatus, it is important to remove foreign matter periodically by means of a maintenance method, such as a wiping method, or the like.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-238611 and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-111808 describe a method of cleaning a nozzle plate by abutting a cleaning material impregnated with cleaning liquid against the whole surface of a nozzle plate. Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-142621 discloses an inkjet application apparatus including a spraying mechanism for spraying solvent onto a nozzle surface and a mechanism for wiping the nozzle surface, wherein cleaning liquid is sprayed from the nozzles and wiping is performed.
However, in the apparatuses described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-238611 and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-111808, since cleaning liquid is deposited directly on the cleaning material, then it is difficult to adjust the cleaning liquid. Furthermore, a nozzle surface is normally formed with hydrophobic properties in order to prevent the adherence of ink. Consequently, in the apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-142621, even if cleaning liquid is sprayed onto a nozzle surface, then there is a possibility that the cleaning liquid runs off the nozzle surface and the surface is wiped in a state where there is no cleaning liquid deposited thereon because the nozzle surface has hydrophobic properties. Because wiping is carried out in a state where there is no cleaning liquid deposited on the nozzle surface, there is also a further problem in that the hydrophobic film on the nozzle surface is degraded.